Adrian Peterson says he’s still not as explosive as he could be

Posted by Mike Florio on October 25, 2012, 8:02 PM EDT

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Adrian Peterson has been asked so many times to put a percentage on his health that he has decided to overshoot the number everyone is waiting for him to utter. Closer inspection of his words, however, reveals that Peterson still isn’t as healthy as he can be.

“I’ll say probably 175 [percent] right now,” Peterson told LaDainian Tomlinson of NFL Network. “I feel like I’m better than I was last year. But me just knowing my body, you know when one side is weaker than the other, you’re not as explosive. So that’s the only thing that I’m lacking right now. It’s strong, don’t get me wrong. Probably stronger than a lot of running backs’ left legs out there in the league, but I know there’s so much more to gain.”

Given that he’s only seven yards from the NFL rushing lead through seven games, that’s a scary proposition.

The good news? He gets a chance to add to his numbers tonight. The bad news? The Buccaneers are ranked third against the run.

Adrian’s run game may be taken out of the play real soon if the Bucs keep adding on the points. Minnesota have put themselves in a hole. The Vikings will have to start playing catch up and Ponder is no Drew Brees. GO BUCS!!